


Thousandfurs And The Prince

by NervousOtaku



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Genre: Fairy Tale Retellings, Grimm Fairy Tales - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 11:31:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16196678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousOtaku/pseuds/NervousOtaku
Summary: Thousandfurs is a great beast that peels potatoes in the kitchen. The past two nights, the prince of the castle has stopped by asking after treasures Thousandfurs keeps. It's now the third night.





	Thousandfurs And The Prince

The kitchen was quiet. It was empty and dark. Only Thousandfurs was in there, sitting on her haunches by the fire and peeling potatoes. Everyone else was at the prince's ball. Women flirted with the prince, men wooed rejected ladies, nobles showed off their gems. Music filled the ballroom, with laughter and chatter adding to the cheerful atmosphere.

Once upon a time, she would have loved to go. But then her father, a great king, had gone mad. He'd fallen ill, killing her mother so he could marry her instead. She had been lucky, convincing him to produce near-impossible trinkets. It gave her time to find a spell to change her form. By some twisted miracle, her father had gotten the gifts. But the night before their wedding, she had stolen the presents and performed the spell. She fled the kingdom, galloping on all fours as fast as she could. No longer was she the most beautiful princess in the world, but a large beast who worked in the kitchens of a different castle.

No, Thousandfurs had no interest in the ball.

She crooned quietly as she peeled more potatoes.

The door clattered open, letting in noise and light for a brief moment before slamming shut again. She didn't look up, knowing that it was the prince. It was the third night of the ball, and this had happened the previous two nights as well.

“Thousandfurs,” the prince begged, stumbling over and grabbing onto her pelt, “Thousandfurs, please. Your dress, please, let me have your dress.”

She gently shook him loose and rose up off her haunches. Putting the current potato and her knife down, she crossed the kitchen. She had to duck her head as she moved so her antlers wouldn't collide with the rafters. Reaching the wall, she extended her torso and arms up towards the ceiling. Stretching felt nice, she rarely left the kitchen any more, and there was so little space. Dislodging one of the bricks in the wall, Thousandfurs reached in and drew out a walnut shell. It contained the impossible gifts her father had crafted and hunted down. Three dresses, made of sunlight, moonlight, and starlight, as well as three golden rings.

Well, one ring now. The prince claimed to have lost the other two. It wasn't hard to guess that he was giving them away.

Collapsing down again, Thousandfurs handed the prince the nut shell and returned to her potatoes. He would pick out a dress, take the ring, and make himself beautiful. He would go dance as a woman, with a man of his choosing, then come back at dawn and return the dress.

She didn't know who the rings were going to.

She hoped the prince had made a good choice in his suitor.

As the prince left in the starlight dress, the final gold ring on his little finger, Thousandfurs began to croon again.


End file.
